a) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a musical instrument for the playing of strings, specifically playing in such manner that the pitches of strings can be varied up or down independently of each other through changes in string tension via finger pressure applied to levers, all accomplished by the hand which does not pluck or otherwise activate the strings. Secondarily, the invention relates to the above-mentioned musical instrument with the additional characteristic of allowing the player to choose strings' harmonics without the use of hands.
b) Related and Prior Art
The change in tension on a musical string is a widespread playing technique found in many music cultures. On fretted instruments such as guitars, fingers are used to stretch strings to create vibratos and other ornaments. Some electric guitars are provided with a `tremolo bar` which allows the strings as a group to be tightened or slackened by the string-activating hand (typically the right hand plucking or strumming). This provides a variety of effects and ornaments. But the tremolo bar cannot select individual strings for pitch changing while leaving other strings in their `rest tuning`, defined as that tuning preset by adjustment of the tuning peg. Nor can it slacken one string while tightening another. Further, there is a disadvantage in that the string-activating hand must also do the pitch changing, thereby increasing the difficulty of rendering subtle and accurate control of pitch.
In China and throughout much of Asia there exist zither instruments whose strings can be individually tightened by finger pressure of the non-plucking hand. But in these instruments, strings cannot be slackened from their rest tunings by increasing finger pressure. In Viet Nam there is a folk instrument called dan bau which has only one string, and this string terminates in the side of a rod which is able to slacken and tighten the string. Only one note can sound at a time.
There are pedal instruments which can change the pitches of some chosen group of strings through changes in string tension via the positions of foot pedals. The steel pedal guitar and the orchestral harp are examples. But such pedals are used primarily to change tuning set-ups and have little ornamental use. Nor can either of these instruments make use of variable finger pressure to accomplish wide ranging simultaneous and continuous pitch changes.
No musical device is known in which the player can simultaneously vary the tensions of more than one string independently of each other, up and down from their rest tunings through the application of finger pressure, and in which increasing pressure can result in greater deviation from rest tuning up or down as chosen. Also, no musical device is known in which the player can do all of this and at the same time, without using hands, choose strings' harmonics to be played.
The primary object of the invention is to enable the player to continuously and simultaneously vary the pitches of strings independently of each other, through the application of finger pressure, both up and down from the strings' rest tunings, in such manner that increasing pressure always results in greater deviation from the rest tunings, up or down in frequency as chosen. Another object is to be able to accomplish the previously mentioned object is such manner that the hand which varies the tensions is not the hand which activates the strings. Another object is to accomplish the previously mentioned objects while at the same time playing harmonics without having to use hands to choose the harmonics.